11 Best Italian Restaurants in Durham

“Vici Ristobar's offerings for the Triangle Restaurant Week are beautiful. The grouper and spinach were delicious, as was the cavitappi and Italian sausage. The tiramisu and canolli were light and a perfect finish. I also very much enjoyed the bread and the pear and gorgonzola salad.“

“All aspects of the service at Cucciolo Osteria Durham are outstanding. The wait staff is knowledgeable and very friendly. Every request is listened to, and possible. Service is prompt and comes with a smile. I highly recommend going to eat here!“

“Listen, I called this place and said I needed a large pizza and five minutes. Not only did they somehow someway make a large pizza in five minutes but it came out the oven tasting like heaven. It was literally delectable. Place is legit. Service was electric, the boys behind the counter completely understood the situation and completed the mission. Thank you god and devils pizza.“

“Many thanks to Aaron, Mary Claire, and everyone else Alimentari At Mothers And Sons. When Covid forced us to cancel our wedding (we had planned our reception at M&S), the team went above and beyond to help prepare a take home meal for us to celebrate our small ceremony this past weekend. We arrived to pick up our dinner only to be SHOWERED with amazing food and wine. Many thanks for helping to make it such a special day!“

“Talk about a fun date night! My wife and I sat at the bar. We got a dinner and a show. It was so fun watching the staff roll out the food. As it came out, we got to see first hand what we wanted to eat. Everything was super delicious and the staff is great! We will definitely be back!“

“My 4-year-old will cry all the way home if we do not stop. Every time! He loves this place more than Chick-fil-A! And don't let there not be a booth open...lol. Luckily, we haven't had a problem with his preferences! Adult and children fun atmosphere. You can't go wrong with anything on the menu. ????Kid-friendliness: Great tenders. 2 arcade machines at the end. Colorful.“

“Everything at Toast is DELICIOUS!! As an industry member myself, I appreciate their changing menu, seasonality, freshness, and originality, all while keeping the prices surprisingly low. These days, it seems like I can't get a good lunch for under $18. At toast, I can get 2 delicious crostinis, a soup, and a drink from $10-$12. Their lentil soup is honestly the best lentil soup I've ever had, their merguez crostinis are a delight, and the service is all I could ever ask for, with my orders always quickly fulfilled and piping hot when I pick them up. This is probably my dream restaurant: limited hours, changing menu, flavor-focused. Nothing fancy-schmancy, just good ol' cookery and deliciousness. LOVE THIS PLACE!“

“I had a vegetable lasagna from Pop's Backdoor Pizza and it was so good. I am a vegetarian/pescatarian and I eat vegetarian lasagnas from time to time. This one exceeded my expectations. I had planned to save half for today but I ate all of it! I ate the garlic bread in the parking lot. Delicious!!!“

“Warm, comfortable atmosphere with a wait staff that excels in fine dining service without the pretense, and the menu offers an unexpectedly elevated Italian fare. Mothers and Sons is definitely not your everyday Italian restaurant, with each creative plate bringing a taste experience. Every bite is a surprise to your palate: rich flavor in one bite, a wonderful surprise of spiciness in another, then subtle deliciousness in the next. The bartender selected a perfect red wine to accompany our meal and graciously came to our table to make sure we were pleased. Pace yourself with the generous portions because you’ll absolutely need to save room for dessert. Wonderful evening from the moment we were greeted at the door until we were thanked for coming by. I felt like I’d been transported to Rome for the evening!“

“We ate here for Valentine's Day. I ordered the Chicken Marsala, my sister & niece got the lobster ravioli, and the hubs ordered the lasagna. We all LOVED our meals, with the exception of the hubs. The lasagna was not layered, it was more deconstructed. Bread and service were outstanding! The place was clean and quaint! A nice little authentic Italian gem!!“

“I ordered the chicken marsala without the mushrooms and they charged me more for the sauce, my wife ordered the steak with two sides that came with it and was charged for the sides all this extra charges for what we thought came with it it was a downer but the food was pretty good“